Of Nobel and Elindar

[Elindar]

I sat languishing in my home practicing some scales when a knock came on my door.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"I have an important message for Elindar Starsong Governor's son", squeaked the retort.

I opened the door and looked down upon the messenger. It was a denizen from the observatory overlooking Tethelin. I believe his name was Fistius Minervatar or something like that.

"Hello...my good gnome. What message could you possibly have for a songmaster like myself."

He ignored me somewhat while he searched through what seemed like an endless number of pockets. Then voila an envelope appeared in his hand.

He handed it to me, the front of which just had my name in great silvery letters written in gnomish runes. I turned it over in my hand and saw that the wax seal was embossed with a stamp in the shape of an S.

I looked down at the messenger and said, "you may leave"

He looked up at me and said, "no. I have been asked to bring back your answer."

"Hrmph!"

I carefully broke the seal and unfolded the parchement within.

It read:

Elindar Starsong, you are cordially invited to view the Grand Unveiling of the greatest clockwork ever made by gnomekind. You may perform, however if you choose not to I still welcome you, both as a representative of my neighbors the elves and of course as a friend to bear witness to my greatest achievement. I do hope that you can attend.

When: 27th of Bristebanary 8PM
Where: My House

Please RSVP to the messenger bowing before you

I looked over the parchment and down at the bowing gnome...and then back to the piece of paper.

*Snafitzer*

I folded the invitation carefully and reinserted it into the envelope and said, "Tell Snafitzer I would be delighted to attend and that I would perform my newest ballad before his grand unveiling"

The gnome wrote down my response feverishly, then tipped his head and waddled away.

[Nobel]

Nobel’s eyes grew wide when she realized the gnome messenger had come for her, and not for one of her five older siblings. He was sharply dressed in a dark silk robe, with a gold leaf clasp at his throat. Ignoring the throng around them, he handed the letter to the young mage and bowed low.

She turned it over and over in her hands as her excited siblings demanded she open it. Disturbed by the noise, her parents descended the stairs of their home. Nobel’s mother saw the note in her youngest child’s hands, including the red wax seal embossed with an “S”.

“Ah,” she said, silencing the rest of her family. “It must be from Snafitzer.”<br>
Nobel’s brows quirked. She had heard of Snafitzer, of course. Who in Klik Anon did not know of the adventurous gnome who had traveled far away from home so many decades earlier? He had decided that an outdoors lifestyle was better suited to his tastes, and so he settled in some lands not far from the elven kingdom of Fayspires. Snafitzer had thrived there, and the clockworks he had created in his workshop on stilts were the stuff of legends.

Snafitzer was a long-time friend of the Windwhisper clan, and so it was without hesitation that Nobel’s parents gave their permission for her to attend his party. Her siblings were naturally disappointed… but they also understood that of all of them, Nobel was the one who had the most adventurous tendencies. She had wandered outside the borders of the gnome city much earlier than any of them, while they tended to be home-bodies.

Nobel spent the next several hours in the room she shared with her sister, Lazuli. This certainly would warrant wearing her best pointy hat and her dress robes. She looked at the beautiful stormy robe and ruby slippers that graced Lazuli’s side of the closet and sighed. She was still too young for such wondrous items. She contented herself with her politician’s robe, her staff of learning and a set of cloth items which she had inherited from her sister.

The unveiling of the clockwork wouldn’t occur until tomorrow evening but the young mage decided to start her journey immediately. She bid her family good-bye and headed towards Kara Village. Along the way, she conjured a fire elementaling. It didn’t satisfy Nobel’s almost insatiable need for conversation, but at least it made the road seem a bit less lonely.

She was grateful that she recently learned a cloaking spell, as she came across a few creatures – rattlesnakes, spiders, and the ever-present mindwhipper wasps – that surely would have liked to do her harm. A few hours later, the guard towers marking Kara Village came into view. After refreshing her food and water supplies, the gnome continued on her way to Fayspires. She would find a room in the inn, and then journey to Snafitzer’s home the following day.

[Elindar]

Elindar looked at his closet amazed by the fine tunics he had accumulated.

He would never be able to decide on one for such an important event...nor would he have an easy time settling on a date. Perhaps Aanini he thought as he grabbed a splendid gold trimmed shirt from a hook. He would ask her at once he decided. After all the party was only a few nights away.

He clapped his hands and some servants wearing the livery of retainers of House Starsong showed up on the double. Elindar scribbled a few words on a scroll and handed it to the nearest servant.

"Take this to Aanini the Bard...I believe that she is currently playing at the Stronghelm Inn near Moradhim...make haste."

"Yes m'lord" said the elf and sped away.

Now...he thought...an original song would be appropriate.

He sat down and began to pluck a few chords on his lute.